Review of Gintama
10/10. Outstanding. Brilliant. MUST WATCH "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"-esque show, with episodes of pure comedy, yet very well-done serious moments. A great cast of characters, emotional, smart yet never pretentious, and ultimately focused on family, friendship, personal growth and happiness. Gintama is a shounen anime at heart, with the general theme of friendship and love prevailing. HOWEVER, it is so, so much more than that. Comedy- Gintama is extremely hilarious. Truly funny, using all kinds of humor exceptionally well; parody (of other anime, japanese culture, general themes/issues/events), situational humor, slice of life, dirty jokes, repetitive character quirks, and themost commonly utilized "straight man/ funny man" routine. As you consume more and more of the series, the comedy grows as well- at times, simply the appearance of a character is enough to induce fits of laughter, before the character even speaks. As a foreigner and someone with limited anime experience, some of the references may have gone over my head yet are not at all missed- I was so busy laughing at the jokes and references I DID get that I had no time to worry about what i was missing.
Action- A strong suit of Gintama, the action follows the "show, don't tell" philosophy. The fights are fast, brutal, beautifully animated, and depict "realistic" combat. Despite having MC plot armor, the fights are often full of tension, due to the exceptional world-building and storytelling that accompanies the serious arcs.
Drama/FEELS- As an older viewer, one of the stand out elements of Gintama is its Drama. Never melodromatic, heavy handed or particularly in the spotlight, and always balanced by comedy, the emotional moments are the highlights of the show, bringing out the best Gintama has to offer. For adults in particular, while the themes are often universal (love for family, friendship, duty, responsibility), an adult perspective truly enhances the impact and meaning of many emotional moments. This includes romantic relationships, both parent/child relationships, duty, personal honor, and the expression of one's self. All things that hold immense emotional impact and meaning when one has personal experience and understanding of these events. Gintama manages to explore both heavy and lighter emotional drama without ever feeling angsty, melodramatic, 'forced' emotions, nor ever coming off as a Hallmark channel feel good special.
Characters- You will fall in love with the characters of the show, and as you progress through the seasons, will be able to grow with them and understand them all. There is a plentiful variety of characters, with each character (main and side) getting tremendous amounts of development. Gintama manages to produces realistic characters with believable motivations, emotions and desires, while at the same time often being a comedic template and joke set-up. The duality each character possesses mimics the tone and execution of the show itself, perfectly balancing comedy and drama. The characters are expressive, relatable, animated and interesting, coming together to form a brilliantly cohesive world. The side characters get as much development as main characters, and each has their own moment to shine in the spotlight. Moreover, characters introduced for individual episodes or small arcs (2-3 episodes) are oftentimes more developed than main characters from other complete anime series. The detail, nuance and care put into crafting characters, world and story lends to an incredible viewing experience.
MUSIC+ART- well animated. The soundtrack is incredible. Incredible, emotional and very fitting. Combined with visual presentation, an outstanding and effective use of the medium.
Gintama is a show which appeals to the heart. It is incredibly endearing, and ones appreciation for the show grows with each episode watched. Although never incredibly complex, the show proves that emotion comes from the soul-- you will laugh, cry, laugh hysterically and then bawl your eyes out while watching the show, often in the same episode. Incredibly self-aware, the show is aware of anime/shounen sterotypes and will use those to play off/on our expectations.
In closing, Gintama is a show that doubles what you put into it. If you watch it with an open heart and free of expectation, it will give you laughs worthy of top comedies, action better than any classic, and emotional empathy beyond any drama. If you go into it expecting to hate the humor, or hate the pacing, or hating the characters, perhaps you might not enjoy it. As all things with life, and as one of the many lessons from the show, that's OK. Life is meant to be lived, enjoyed and shared with others. If Gintama brings you no positivity, feel free to walk away- just know that you are walking away from potentially one of the best shows across any medium, let alone anime.
TLDR MUST WATCH. 10/10. COMEDY/DRAMA/SOL/ACTION Great for all ages, but as you personally grow & mature you can appreciate/understand elements of the story/characters/situations better.